TripleD
by Fayrandothneil
Summary: Sequel to "Past Forgotten, Present Renewed" Dice and Dex come to play in Amity, but with so many betrayals and surprises, sacrifices and choices are key if the triplets want to see another day.
1. Chapter 1

Part one—Chapter 1—

"Next stop, Amity Park!" the bus driver grinned back at his passengers in the back.

"Great Alfred," Dice said, giving the man a thumbs-up, "I can't wait to get there."

Ashton scoffed at her partner's enthusiasm. The red head could have cared less about this small town that was barely worth the dot on the map that it was.

"Dice why are we here again?" Ashton asked, almost winy sounding. "This isn't Dallas, or Chicago, or even freaking Whitcha, Kansas! It's too small to attract a large crowd, that means less dough in the box office."

"I thought we agreed that we would do at least one small town concert each tour without complaint?" Dice inquired, use to Ashton's pestering nature.

"Yeah alright, but why Amity Park?"

"I thought you might like it. It's America's number one haunted town. Ghosts are rumored to swarm the place."

Though in reality, that was only partly the reason why they were going; Dice knew better about the ghost rumor. While the rest of America thought it was some cruel joke, Dice knew it was real, considering her brother was one of the many famed ghosts that haunted the area. She had already warned Danny that she would be coming soon and he was getting ready for her arrival—by cleaning up town as much as possible so that there wouldn't be a distraction. He was the real reason why they were going there, but Ashton didn't have to know that, not yet.

Dice moved her gaze to the window where the famed forest of Amity loomed like a treasure chest, just waiting to be opened and removed of its gems and secrets. Danny had promised to show her around the town, as well as a discreet visit to the woods and the portal that hung in it. She had been ready to see the Ghost Zone for the first time and she could barely contain her excitement.

"What's so exciting about an old forest?" Ashton asked with a sneer. "I would have torn it all up and put up a mall by now."

"It's part of the town's history, plus a lot of people still live in those woods," Dice said, a bit angry at her sister's snappy mood. "If you don't have anything nice to say Ashton, do say it at all. Spare everyone your mood. I'm happy for once and I'm not going to let anyone—not even you—ruin it for me."

Then Panther strode into the room. Cosmo Panther was their agent, and also their legal guardian since their other parents had died in a plane crash some years ago, but he had never been a parent. He was the receiver of their funds while they played their butts off for almost nothing. To him, the girls were nothing more than money-making toys. He also had a way of getting under everyone's skin, including Dice's, without trying. He was just naturally annoying and demanding, which made him a good money maker.

"I'm afraid that's not good enough," he was yelling into his Bluetooth, "I want a new schedule by tomorrow and a plane booked for L.A. by tonight!"

He hung up rudely and looked at the girls with a faux smile.

"Sorry about that girls," he said, much more pleasant to them then to the poor woman over the phone. "Daddy is straightening this little mess up now."

"You're not my father," Dice said with a dead-beat face. "Plus what mess up? We're right on schedule last time I checked."

"Oh, you mean performing for this town? I'm afraid I'm canceling it. It would be bad publicity for you."

'You mean it would put a hole in your wallet,' Dice thought angrily.

"How would it be bad?" Ashton asked. "Everyone is just nuts."

"Exactly! Think how that would reflect your character girls, performing for a bunch of lunatics! Your ratings would go down and your fans would leave you, along with the little dollar signs that they hold in their pockets. We need to keep your image clean."

'No! I can't leave now, not when I'm so close to finding my real family. Wait, that's it!'

"But leaving would be bad as well," Dice put in, and Panther looked at her in confusion. "If we leave without giving a very good reason—and I mean a very good reason—then we become unreliable to perform. That means no one will rent their stages to us and that means we can play, which also means our fans will be disappointed and that means less money coming in if we don't perform here. Don't want to let the fans down do we? Besides, it's a small town where hardly any celebrities visit. All of those old ladies in care homes will think better of us and buy our songs for their grandchildren. Ladies with very deep pockets. If we set up as good role models, then parents will want their children to come to our concerts! We'd be a bigger success if we played here then if we just left without a reason."

Panther looked up at the ceiling, pursing his full lips in deep thought. Ashton smiled and looked at Dice from the corner of her eyes. Dice watched Panther with a confident look. After a moment, Panther was back on his phone and pull out all of the stops for this concert. He normally didn't listen to other people's ideas, but he wasn't known to turn down logic.

"That was brilliant!" Ashton said, her eyes dancing with laughter.

"I was afraid you would jump in and destroy my chances of stopping him."

"Who cares? If it gets on Panther's nerves, then I'm in it with you."

The two high-fived each other, both now in a much better mood to visit Amity Park.

Chapter 2—

"Anything on your side of town Tucker?" Danny asked through his Fenton Phone that was strapped around his ear.

"Nope, all clear here," Tucker said. "Man you really put in over time this week."

"Well, I didn't want to have to take care of any trouble when Dice comes," Danny shrugged as he headed back to his house.

"Any idea when she's showing up anyway?" Valerie asked through her own communication device.

"Sometime tomorrow. She even sent backstage passes to their concert."

"Sweet!" Tucker squealed with girlish delight.

"Knock it off Tucker," Sam said sourly. "I like to keep my ears."

"I'll meet you guys tomorrow at the Nasty Burger for lunch, alright?" Danny asked as he came upon his house, just before his regular curfew.

Everyone agreed with him before he took the phone off and phased through his wall and into his room. The large black dog that had been resting on the bed jumped when he entered and glared at him.

"Warn an old dog when you do that," Rannoch said, jumping down from the bed and walking up to Danny.

"Sorry Dad," Danny said opening his door and walking into the hall. "I didn't know you were sleeping in here."

"Your room is the only place where I can get away from that infernal noise," Rannoch moaned as he followed Danny down the stairs.

"They're still working on that?"

Danny crossed the kitchen area and went straight for the lab/basement of the house. Maddie and Jack Fenton were still down there where he had left them earlier that morning, working on some new gadget that looked like it had gotten some better form since he last saw it.

"Hey sweetie," Maddie smiled, lifting her goggles from her face when she saw him come down the stairs. "How was your day?"

"Fine, um, any reason why you haven't left the lab all day?" Danny asked, looking around at the mess he would—no doubt—have to clean up later.

"We're close to a breakthrough son!" Jack boomed from his place under the specter speeder, he was probably pulling some spare parts from it for the new invention. "We didn't want to stop since we're on a roll."

Danny shrugged when Rannoch looked up at him with a raised brow.

"Does this invention inflict pain in any way?" Rannoch asked when Danny remained silent.

"Only to ghosts that don't have your ecto signatures," Maddie said. "We've been remodeling things all summer so they can't hurt you two."

"It stops a ghost's ability to fly, so that it's easier to catch," Jack said, rolling from underneath the vehicle covered in some black liquid, but he didn't seem to realize it.

"I hope that isn't flammable," Rannoch said, remembering the last time Jack got black stuff on him and winced.

"Clean yourself up Jack, we don't want to have another accident," Maddie said, tossing her husband a towel. "Is Dice still coming into town as expected?"

"Yep, I'm going to meet her tomorrow to hang out with my friends, then we're going to the concert this weekend. I just hope her sister doesn't catch her."

"She should have told Ashton," Rannoch said shaking his head. "It's only going to make the situation worse when she finds out about it. Which she will."

Rannoch said this with a pointed look at Danny. The ghostly teenager frowned at the ground, knowing full well what the black dog meant. Danny had seen it happen, though it hadn't happed for everyone else yet. His ability to see into the future had warned him about it and now he was trying to figure out how to change it. The only way would be to tell Dice and let her decide, but Rannoch wasn't in favor of that idea.

"It's her secret and she can do with it as she pleases," Danny told him firmly, and Rannoch had been quiet about it since then, but his hints were becoming annoying.

"I don't know about you pup," Rannoch said, turning around and going up the stairs, "but I'm ready for a walk."

"Now?!" Danny asked incredulous. "I just got home!"

"You always did want a dog," Maddie said smiling at the irony. "A dog that bosses you around is no different from a normal dog."

"Yeah, but normal dogs don't talk or hold guilt over your head," Danny grumbled. "I guess we'll be back later."

"Dinner's in an hour!" Maddie called up as he walked the stairs to the kitchen where Rannoch was sitting and had the leash in his mouth.

"To bad Vlad had to make this leash law," Danny said, clicking the leash into place and opening the door for Rannoch. "He's such a pain in the tail."

"Patience," Rannoch said, a little warning behind his voice, "Masters will get his just reward soon enough."

"I just hope I'm alive to see it. Ever since he became mayor—by totally illegal means by the way—it's like I can't get rid of him. Every time I turn a corner, one of his thugs is breathing down my neck."

"Well, we'll just have to avoid turning corners," Rannoch smiled.

Danny smiled back, but it really wasn't that funny.

Rannoch's ears tipped back and he growled, looking over his hairy shoulder to see what it was that alerted him. Danny turned on his heal and saw one of Vlad's many limos crawl up to the curb and stop right next to them. The last back window rolled down and Vlad's long, eager, evil face smiled at him, sunglasses blocking his indigo blue eyes.

"What do you want?" Danny asked, all warmth gone and crossing his arms.

"What makes you say that my boy?" Vlad asked a sly smile on his face.

"You always want something when you come to me. I'm just cutting to the quick."

Rannoch's growl grew in volume as Vlad spied the black canine standing beside the boy.

"Your parents finally give in for you to have a pet?" Vlad asked, but he didn't sound interested.

"No," Danny said matter-of-fact, "after the last ghost invasion, they wanted to make sure I was protected. Rannoch is supposed to protect me from ghosts. New research my parents worked up says that some animals are impervious to spirits."

"That's ridiculous," Vlad shook his head, but the dog kept growling.

"He seems to be a good judge of character," Danny smiled.

"Then how come he doesn't attack you?" Vlad asked.

"Because I don't give him a reason too, but you can."

"Listen you—"

Vlad had leaned out of his window and grabbed Danny by the front of the shirt. Rannoch barked and grabbed Vlad's hand with his fangs, digging in deep and snarling.

"AHHHHHH!!!" Vlad screamed, sending an ecto blast from his hand that sent the dog back to the ground.

The billionaire quickly retreated back inside his car and it drove off with a screech of the tires. Rannoch shook his head and spat on the ground.

"Awful tasting stuff," he said grimacing. "He really is out for your goat isn't he?"

"He's never tried anything like that before," Danny said, his heart still beating fast because he had been scared for Rannoch. "He must be trying something new."

"Or he's getting desperate," Rannoch said gravely. "Let's go, I wish to get to the park while people aren't there."

Chapter 3—

"This is your last stop kid."

Dex opened an eye to glare at the truck driver who had so graciously let him take residence with the cargo, which just so happened to be a ton of hay that he was driving cross-country. The hay was in his hair, his cloths, even his teeth. Spitting out the dried grass that was only meant for livestock, he clumsily clambered out of the back of the truck and set his feet on the asphalt of the deserted highway.

"And where is this stop?" Dex asked in an annoyed tone. "It's the middle of nowhere."

"The sign says Amity Park," the trucker said a bit drunkenly as he slammed his car door. "Just head towards the lights and you'll be there."

The engine roared to life with a blast of exhaust from its pipe in Dex's direction. It crawled away in the dark of the night, leaving the sixteen-year-old to wave the smog away and look down the hill at Amity Park. It seemed small enough, smaller then L.A., that was for sure. His only concern now was how to find lodging for the night. He didn't exactly have any money to get a hotel room, and he doubted there were any homeless houses in a town this small.

It was times like these that he wished he wasn't a homeless kid. After being kicked out of the last foster home, he knew he could never let his hopes rise for finding a family. He was too old for adoption; everyone knew that once you hit thirteen you were pretty much reduced to the foster homes. Sometimes the thirteen and fourteen year olds got lucky, but sixteen was definitely too old, you would have better luck on the road—and that's exactly what Dex did.

Plus no one would take in a kid with physical problems. At the start of summer, he began to develop what he could only call ghost powers: flying, turning invisible, walking through walls. He welcomed all of it, and it was sort of cool. He freaked himself out at the beginning, but when he realized he could get a free meal easier, he embraced it as his only survival. However, that wasn't the only problem he had. He often had chest pains, but he didn't know why. The few doctors he had been too said it was probably asthma, but he knew that wasn't it. He never had asthma as a kid, but he didn't know what else it could be. He refrained from any hard exercise, like walking in the roads and stuff, so that his chest wouldn't give him a reason to complain, but lately, it flared up without warning.

He winced when he saw that he had to walk at least three miles into the town.

"Well, that's what flight is for," he smiled to himself.

He concentrated hard and the two rings of light appeared, changing his black hair to white, his blue eyes to neon-green, and it put him in some sort of jumpsuit (he had no idea why that happened). It was hard at first, but it slowly became easier to summon the rings to change his form and in addition, have better access to his powers.

He pushed off from the ground and slowly lifted into the sky. He loved flight, and wished he could do it more often, but he tired easily and with the lack of energy his powers didn't work as well. He could make it three miles at least until he had to touch land and change back.

He was too busy trying to stay invisible as he flew into town that he missed the tour bus roll up to the fanciest hotel and the giant silver fixture on top of one of the houses in town. He only wanted to make it to the docks.

When he got there, he was so fatigued that he barely had enough energy to phase into one of the buildings and went straight to sleep where he had landed.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2—Chapter 4—

"This is it?" Ashton asked as she looked out the window of their hotel room. "It's a dump."

"I think it's homey. It's small and quiet, you know. Plus we have an awesome view of the docks from here," Dice pointed to the giant Ferris-wheel that could be seen spinning over the water.

"Yeah I guess that's cool," Ashton nodded.

The red-head plopped down in one of the chairs in the giant room and started to read one of her favorite magazines. This was going to be a boring day.

Ashton heard Dice strumming on her guitar again and looked up to see her sister on the bed and looking blankly at the ceiling, as if waiting for something.

"The Angel of Music visit you in your dreams last night?" Ashton asked. "You've been playing those odd little ditties a lot lately."

"You could say that," Dice said with an odd smirk on her face.

"But seriously, let's take those great songs and record them," they had this argument a million times and Dice's answer was still no.

"I promised the 'angel' that I wouldn't take credit for his work," Dice shook her head. "And I always keep my promises."

"Yeah I know you do, but at least tell me who this mysterious boyfriend is."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Dice shouted.

Since spring break, Dice had been staying in touch with some guy she called Dan. Ashton could hear her speaking to him on the phone and sometimes was lucky enough to get a glimpse of what she was emailing the strange boy. Dice wouldn't say a thing about him, other than that he wasn't her boyfriend. Ashton believed Dice—she was never one to lie—but that didn't stop the red-head from teasing her sister about it.

"Wait," Ashton said slowly putting her reading material down as it dawned on her, "he lives in this town doesn't he? You've been trying to hook up with him!"

Dice stared at Ashton as if she was surprised her sister had figured it out, but she smiled knowingly.

"Yes, he does live here, and I'm going to meet up with him and his friends later."

Ashton scowled at the fact that Dice seemed to have more freedom then she did. Panther insisted that they look more related then they did and he liked Ashton's red hair better then Dice's black locks. Because of this, Dice was pretty much forced to wear a red wig on stage to keep up the front that the sisters were really related. Also because of this, Dice could go out in public without it and people wouldn't recognize her. Ashton had no such luck and found herself wishing she could go with her sister.

Dice must have seen her look because she began to dig into the closet where all of their stuff was hanging and brought out two pairs of street clothes.

"Why don't you join us?" Dice asked tossing Ashton some worn jeans onto her primly pressed black slacks.

"A change of clothes isn't going to make a difference with me, remember?" Ashton scowled, but before she could argue her point further, Dice brought out a blue ball cap with the Yankees' logo sown into the front above the bill.

"You were saying?" Dice asked when Ashton cut herself off.

"Let me wipe this gunk off of my face," Ashton said, taking the cap and heading into the bathroom. "I can look more normal with less eyeliner."

"Let me help, no makeup would be better but I guess a little wouldn't hurt."

Dice followed Ashton into the bathroom and helped her sister wash her face off. Dice didn't bother to wear makeup that morning since she knew she wouldn't need it for that afternoon. Dice let Ashton wear some pink eye-shadow and some lip-gloss, but that was it. Ashton argued about mascara, but she eventually saw that it would be a bad idea. Pulling her long hair back and tucking the cap on her head, complete with a tee-shirt and the jeans Dice had tossed at her earlier, Ashton looked normal.

"No one is going to recognize me now," she said triumphantly. "But I don't have any sneakers to wear, all I have are heals."

"You can barrow a pair of mine, we are the same size after all," Dice said smiling.

"How are we going to get out of here anyway?" Ashton asked as Dice flung the shoes at her. "There are guards everywhere."

"Leave that to me," Dice said with another knowing look.

After Ashton fumbled with the laces, Dice opened the door and spoke with their body guard, Carl. He was a big black man with the heart of a puppy dog.

"Carl, Ashton and I are going out," Dice was saying as Ashton came up behind her. "We're going to be back before dark. Please say that we're sleeping the bus ride off."

"No problem Dice," Carl said and he looked at Ashton. "You'll fit right in girl," he gave her a thumbs up.

"I hope I do," Ashton said tugging her pony tail.

"Is the back stairwell empty?" Dice asked coming out of the room.

"Yep, and there's a boy down in the alley waiting for you," Carl said with a frown. "Sure you don't need me?"

"Quiet sure," Dice smiled, "he's expected."

"Oh, so that's Dan?" Carl asked. "Now I understand."

Dice smiled and pulled Ashton by the wrists to the stairway.

"So we have to walk eight flights down to the ground floor?" Ashton asked.

"No," Dice shook her head, "We have to walk ten flights to the ground floor."

Ashton groaned as they began to descend the cement stairway. Their shoes clacked and made the empty hall seem eerie, but it made less sound then heels would. Ashton was huffing by the time they made it to the last flight. Dice for some reason was just fine, probably with all of the running she did when she was out and about without her sister.

"Ready?" Dice asked her.

"One question," Ashton said before Dice opened the big door to freedom, "what are you going to call me? Ashton isn't a popular name and people might make connections."

"I'll call you Ash, like I sometimes do. People may mistaken it for Ashley," Dice said as she pushed the bar down and opened the door.

"About time," said a voice in the alley way, "Tuck's waiting to eat and Sam doesn't want to start without you two."

Ashton gaped as she came face-to-face with Dice, that is, if she was a boy. Besides the difference in gender, hair cut, and a small height difference, they were same.

"It took longer to get Ashton ready," Dice said hugging the boy. "It's good to see you Dan."

Chapter 5—

Dex jerked awake when he heard some rustling in the back corner of the building. It took him a minute to get his wits back around him since he was so groggy and sleeping on a cement floor wasn't the best way to get a good night's rest—or to wake up in a good mood.

"Come out or you're dead!" Dex shouted at the corner.

A pointed cap came up first, followed by eyes and an upturned nose, but that was it. The intruder was small, that was for sure, but his skin was blue and he had an odd white shine around his skin. Dex shivered, seeing his breath in the air.

"All the way," Dex commanded, standing up, feeling his back pop uneasily as he did so.

The figure floated up, his pudgy frame supporting blue overalls and work gloves. Dex was a bit taken aback as he saw it come near to him, but it seemed afraid to even look at him.

"What are you doing here?" the thing said, his voice loud and yet unsteady at the same time.

"I needed a place to crash for the night," Dex said.

"Why are you not at your own home with the red head woman and the pudgy, overbearing, oaf?"

"Because I don't know any people fitting that description," Dex said raising a brow. "Who are you anyway?"

"I am the Box Ghost! Master of all things square and formed of right angles! BEWARE!"

Dex chuckled into his hand.

"Box Ghost?" he asked shaking his head and holding back more laughter. "What kind of name is that?"

"An accurate one!" the Box Ghost defended himself. "You should not be asking my name, you should be running in fear of my—" here the ghost paused to read the label off of one of the old boxes littering the floor of the building. "Larz's Patio Furniture, Cheney, Kansas! BEWARE!"

All of a sudden, the boxes rose above the floor and Dex was looking up at them, along with a glowing Box Ghost. He cackled evilly as he let the box fall on his victim, but Dex leaped out of the way, rolling on the floor and cracking his elbow with his oh so graceful landing. Now his temper had risen another level and he growled at the Box Ghost with dangerous green eyes.

The Box Ghost saw this and his mouth formed an 'oh' as he thought about his mistake. This Phantom looked a tiny bit different—broader shoulders, taller, and longer hair—but his growl was almost animal-like and his look reminded Box of Vlad Plasmius.

"I always did want to work out more in the mornings," Dex glared at the ghost, cracking his knuckles. "Let's start with the punching bag."

Box Ghost gulped.

Chapter 6—

"Hold up!" Ashton said, looking at Dice and the boy. "You're Dan?"

"I go by Danny as well," he said smiling at her, then he turned to Dice. "You didn't tell her?"

"I didn't tell her much," Dice said with a pointed look at Danny.

"Can someone please tell me what is going on?" Ashton asked, confused.

"Sure, but can we do it while we walk?" Danny asked as he led them out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk. "I'm Danny Fenton. Dice is my sister."

"You're twins? You have a twin?" Ashton asked Dice without a breath in between.

"Something like that," Dice said, not wanting to give away the whole truth. "We met up over the internet and we've been in touch ever since."

"Now I see why you wanted to come here," Ashton said giving Danny a different look. "He's kind of cute."

Dice shoved Ashton in the ribs, making the red-head complain, and Danny laugh.

"Ashton that's gross," Dice said with a glare. "You're my sister and he's my brother. Even though you guys aren't related, you're all still family to me. It would be weird for you to be crushing on him."

"You're right," Ashton said rolling her eyes. "So where are we going anyway?"

"We're meeting my friends at the Nasty Burger for a bite then we're going to hang out on the docks," Danny said pointing his thumb at the rides that could be seen from their spot on the ground. "The annual summer carnival is going on, which is where you guys are going to be performing tomorrow night."

"That's great!" Dice said, her eyes sparkling. "I always wanted to perform on the water."

"What if the equipment gets wet?" Ashton asked skeptical.

"Unless we have a freak storm or some ghost with water powers shows up, it'll be fine," Danny said shrugging his shoulders.

Ashton had to roll her eyes, but Dice gave him a wide-eyed look.

"It's not likely to happen," he said, seeing her face.

Dice nodded, apparently satisfied by his answer, but there seemed to be more behind it. Ashton really couldn't put her finger on it, but they really seemed connected somehow.

"Hey Dan, over here!"

Ashton looked across the street at an African-American kid that was waving them over to the table outside a building deeming itself as the Nasty Burger. Two girls were also at the table, another African-American and a Goth. Danny kept some odd company.

"Hey guys," Danny said as they came closer. "This is Ashton, call her Ash for today," he pointed at the red-head, "and this is my sister, Dice."

Dice gave a tentative wave to them all, just a bit uncomfortable at their stares.

"Dude, you weren't kidding about the identical thing," the other boy said looking closely at the two.

"Guys, this is Tucker, my best friend since forever," Danny said introducing his friends, "and this is Sam and Valerie, who are just friends," he said pointedly at Dice.

"I didn't say anything," she said, but a smile played on her face.

"You really didn't have to," Danny grumbled.

"Come on, I'm starving!" Tucker said, whining like a child. "We'll let you two bicker after we eat."

"You're always hungry," Valerie and Sam said in unison.

"And I'm picking up the tab," Sam said with a pointed look at Tucker to order only one meal.

"Fine, I can always get something at the docks," Tucker said, his eyes sparkling at the thought of cotton candy and corndogs.

Lunch was interesting. They all had something to talk about. Dice and Ashton refrained from speaking about their fame since they were supposed to be normal teens for the day. Ashton found out that Danny's parents were ghost hunters—and apparently the top ghost experts in the country. Sam didn't talk much about herself, but her beliefs were well spoken. When Tucker's meat tray and her veggie meal came to their table, an argument ensued that would make Panther seem like an amateur. Danny and Valerie ignored them though, and Dice followed suit. She seemed more comfortable with Danny around, almost as if she could get into his mind.

'Might be a freaky twin thing,' Ashton shrugged to herself.

Valerie was an interesting individual. Like Sam, she wasn't afraid to stand up and defend herself, but she was also very gentle and quiet. She was smart and inventive, making do with what she had and not complaining. She said she had Danny to thank for that, but it seemed she didn't want to elaborate on the reason why.

When they were done, the friends hurried down to the pier and the carnival. Ashton had never seen so many people having a good time. Since her fame restricted her from going to many public places like this, she had never been to an amusement park.

"Candy come to papa!"Tucker said, making a beeline for the cotton candy cart as soon as they got in.

"Thanks for the paying for the tickets Sam," Danny said as they made their way to Tucker to pull him away from the cotton candy man.

Tucker had somewhat of a reputation and every concession stand was pretty much scared or just plain tired of him. It was up to his friends to get him out of trouble, and he was quickly digging another grave.

"Just one Tuck," Sam warned him as the tech-geek started to randomly grab thing from the cart.

"He's not going to keep it all in anyway," Danny said shaking his head. "Tucker always pukes at the end of each ride."

"That's an inviting metal picture," Ashton said sarcastically.

"Hey come on," Valerie said, pointing at one of the rides. "I want to see how loud Tucker's going to scream on this one. We never got a chance to last week."

"Oh yes," Danny said rubbing his hands together. "I say he doesn't get higher than a little girl."

"I say he can't get higher then when we visited the crystal caves and that flock of bats attacked him," Valerie challenged.

"Five bucks says so," Danny said.

"Deal."

They shook hands and smiled evilly at Tucker as Sam was pulling him from the cotton candy stand.

"What?" Tucker asked, his look getting pessimistic.

"Danny, you are absolutely evil," Dice said, shielding her eyes from the sun as she watched the cars on the rollercoaster steadily climb up the tracks.

"Not totally evil," Danny said doing the same as Dice. "Just plain mean."

The girls chuckled at that as they head the cars descend and one piercing scream followed by a groan from Valerie.

"Yes! I believe I'm five bucks richer," Danny said holding out his hand for his reward.

"That wasn't Tucker," Sam said looking behind her shoulder.

Danny and Dice turned to see more people running away from something. When they shivered slightly, Dice more so then Danny, Ashton wondered what was going on. Then a figure was punched towards them and he flew over their heads to land in a trashcan beside the ride's entrance.

"Box Ghost?" everyone (but Ashton and Dice) asked in wonderment and disbelief.

Chapter 7—

Dex came up out of the ground, his fist still glowing slightly from the unexpected blast he emitted at the Box Ghost. He hovered there, staring at his fist for a moment in confusion.

"Didn't know I could do that," he muttered to himself.

"Dex?"

He looked up when his name was called and saw a few kids around his age staring at him, the ones that caught his attention though were a dark haired boy and girl who looked like twins.

"Dex is that you?" the boy asked, taking a hesitant step forward.

Dex slid back in the air, his eyes growing large with fear and apprehension.

"How do you know me? How do you know my name?" he asked angrily, his fist glowing again.

"Dex calm down," the girl said softly. "We've been looking for you."

"If you're with 'them'," Dex said in disgust and anger, "then you can tell them to go to hell."

He threw his fist at them, making the blast shoot forwards, but they jumped out of the way expertly. His blast made contact with the ground though and a great plume of smoke was the result. He could hear them all coughing and took his chance to escape.

"We've got to follow him!" Dice yelled over to Danny.

"I know, use the smoke as cover," Danny yelled back, changing into Phantom.

He could see Dice change out of the corner of his eyes and had to stare. Her hair was lamb-white, the sun reflecting it as if it was spotless glass, and her eyes still held that feminine look as she looked to him after the rings changed her appearance. Her suit was mostly white, but a black belt, boots, and gloves balanced the colors perfectly.

"Let's go," she nodded and shot up in the air like a rocket (and much more graceful looking then he could ever pull off).

He followed her, the wind rushing past his ears like a gush of water from a fall.

"He's just up ahead," Dice had to shout to him over the wind.

Danny followed her direction and saw Dex flying like a maniac.

"If he keeps this up, he'll hurt himself or someone else," Danny said worried. "We have to ground him."

"Something tells me that isn't going to be easy."

"Just follow my lead. I'm going to throw him off balance so try and catch him as he falls, and try and make the landing gentle."

Dice nodded and fell back a few feet. Danny increased his speed and came up on Dex's right.

"Hey!" he yelled over to the other Halfa. "Slow down, you're going over the sky limit here!"

Dex glared at him and tried to ram into Danny to throw him off balance, but Danny anticipated this and flew up, making Dex throw himself out of the air. Dice was ready and flew down to catch him. She grabbed one of his arms, struggling to hold onto him. He was heavier then she thought. Danny came up and grabbed Dex's other arm.

"Easy now," Danny said.

Dice and Danny slowly descended and set Dex on his feet. They landed in front of him, Danny with his arm's crossed and Dice looking worried. Dex stared at them angrily like a caged animal.

"Who are you?!" he yelled at them, ready to spring.

"You know who we are," Danny said, nearly yelling himself.

"Dan," Dice said softly, touching his arm and whispering to him, "he's telling the truth."

Dice's special ability, like Danny's ability to see into the future, was lie detecting. She could know if you were fibbing or not just by analyzing your words. They still weren't sure on how it worked exactly, but, then again, they weren't sure on how any of this crazy stuff worked.

Dex stared at them both as if their bodies had fused together. Danny stared at Dice, horrified that Dex didn't remember them. True it took Dice and Danny some time before they began to remember things, and they had been trapped in a post-dimension in their sleep.

"What do we do?" Danny asked Dice with sadness in his soul that his own brother didn't remember him.

"How about come quietly?"

Danny turned on his heels, placing himself between Dice and the new presence.

A black man stood in front of them, his suit pressed white and his sun glasses perched proudly on his nose. He was sporting a good-sized gun, which was at that point aimed at the three. Danny couldn't help but notice the ten other agents behind him, dressed in white battle gear and armed with all sorts of weapons that you would think they were ready for war.

"You," Dex spat, jumping to his feet.

"Danny, the Guys in White," Dice said, shrinking away from the humans. "These were the guys that were trying to look at my papers a few months ago."

"And we managed to get them, after a time-consuming process of course," the black man said with a smirk. "Dexter wasn't that hard to find, considering his reputation and his… condition."

Dex shrank back with Dice, his hand moving instantly to his chest. Danny didn't miss the movement and Dex's fear was fueling his carefully, caged anger—but the bars were coming undo pretty quickly.

"You keep your mitts off of my siblings," Danny said threateningly, his fist glowing a bright green which had some of the men taking steps back and giving them second thoughts.

"And you," the head agent said, his smile turning into a frown, "you have been the hardest one to catch so far. The way you evade us and our scanners, we can't even get a lock onto your human form."

"The Lord's been good to me," Danny smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have other places to be."

He turned his back to them, putting an arm around Dice and encouraging Dex to walk ahead. Dex seemed ready to protest, but a look back at the gun in the agent's had him walking with a push of Danny's hand.

"They're going to follow us you know," Dice whispered to Danny, but Dex could hear her too.

"Which is why you're going without me," Danny said firmly.

"What!?" Dex shouted, but he lowered his voice when he realized his slip. "You can't take them on alone."

"I've got two years on you Dex," Danny said poking a finger in his younger brother's hefty chest. "I want you to follow Dice, she'll take you to a safe place."

"Where am I taking him?" Dice asked.

"To your hotel room."

"But, what about Ashton? She'll start asking questions."

"She was going to find out eventually," Danny said in that voice that said he had seen it coming. "She may not find out now unless you tell her now, but if you don't, she'll find out the hard way and it's not going to be pretty."

Dice sighed and nodded, looking up at Danny with a plea in her eyes.

"Be careful."

"I'll be there as soon as I lose these guys," Danny promised.

"Look out!"

Dex slammed into both of them, sending all three into the hard ground. The blast shot over their heads and into a near-by tree, but it wasn't there the second after it had been hit.

"Go," Danny said, making himself intangible and sink through the ground.

Dice and Dex had been rattled for a moment by Danny's absence and the tree being vaporized. Their bodies didn't want to move until the shock wore off, but that was a bad decision since two white-clad hunters were making their way towards them, guns and a net in hand.

Danny grabbed their ankles with his hands as they shot out of the ground, making the guards trip and hit their chins on the ground before Danny shot out fully from the ground, taking the men with him. Danny swung them around three times in the air before letting them go and making them bulldoze into their buddies.

"Go!" Danny shouted at them. "I'll be fine."

Two men were starting to scramble out of the mess of bodies and aiming for Danny's head. Danny's fore-sight warned him before hand and he shot their guns out of their hands quickly with an ecto-blast. The men screamed as the hot substance hit their hands and nearly melted the guns from their grip.

Dice was the first one to blink and realize that they had to get out of there.

"Come on," she told a still stunned Dex.

She grabbed his wrist and flew off as fast as she could with him in tow, making them both invisible so they couldn't easily be followed.

Meanwhile, Danny was done with the back-up, but the man in charge was more skilled. He shot a well aimed bullet at Danny, but he missed his target, grazing Danny's arm instead of hitting him in the head like he had intended. Of course this got Danny mad, but it also warned him to use caution with this one. The bullets came flying from the barrel and it was a battle in itself just to dodge them. Danny tried to freeze the weapon, but the agent shot his own attacks down before they could reach him.

"Come on!" the agent yelled, trying to tease his prey. "Your whore of a mother had better aim."

Danny's eyes flashed angry green and he zoomed from the air, hitting the agent so hard and fast in the face that he nearly hit the ground himself. The agent had dropped to the ground, unconscious and his weapon was lying uselessly in his hands. Danny took it and destroyed it in a combination of ecto energy and pure strength.

"Never slander my family," Danny angrily spat at the man before turning and flying off.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3—Chapter 8—

Dex sat on one of the beds and chucked down the Chinese that Dice had ordered for him. It had been a while since he had anything decent to eat. After nearly six months of digging through people's trash and stealing from local farmers markets, he wasn't going to be picky if Dice wanted to feed him. He also had a chance to bathe, and not in a creek for once. It had been so long since he could use hotel soap without stealing it. Dex wished he had better clothes on as well, but two girls occupied this room and he wasn't about to ask for anything else. He didn't want to push his luck.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Dex looked up from his chopsticks, thinking Dice was talking to him, but she had her back to him and was talking into her phone instead.

"You're lying… well if you're sure it isn't much… can you come up? And bring some clothes for Dex if you could. Thanks Dan, we'll see you when you get here," she hung up and turned to look at Dex. "That was Dan, he's on his way."

"Who?" Dex asked, whipping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Danny, the guy that told us to come here," Dice said pocketing her phone. "Do you know the guys that attacked us?"

Dex looked at the bed spread and didn't say anything. He saw it sink to his left as Dice sat next to him. He looked up and saw her blue eyes seem to sparkle with concern. Trust almost radiated from her, and he was comforted by her presence alone.

"It's okay," she said, reaching out and placing her slim hand over his large one. "They've been following me too."

"They have?" he asked amazed.

"Yes, they tried to get a look at my papers, but my guardian wouldn't let them."

"So that's how they knew you, me too," Dex said blinking back confusion. "Why are they after us?"

"I don't know, Dan might have a better idea. He knows a little bit more then I do."

"He seems to know what he's doing," Dex nodded.

Then he felt the familiar feeling of nothing as his hand became intangible, dropping his food onto the bed.

"Crap!" he cursed and turned to Dice apologetically.

"It's okay," Dice said before he could get a word in, "I still do it sometimes myself. Plus the hotel staff will take care of it. You'll be amazed at what they can do with a little bleach."

She took the carton off of the bed, trying to scoop most of the noodles back into it and set it on the unused desk by the big windows.

"So," Dex said not liking the silence, "you're a pop star?"

"Yeah," it was clear she didn't want to talk about that.

"So why do they call you Dice?" he asked instead.

"I was really young when I got it," Dice said, twisting a finger through her long hair. "I think it was because Dad always said I was his lucky charm."

"Like a pair of dice," Dex thought ironically. "Why did he think you were lucky?"

"Because I'm the only girl out of three children, and a triplet at that," she smiled.

"A triplet?"Dex asked incredulously. "So you and that, Dan guy, are related?"

"Yes, he's one of my older brothers."

"So, where's the other one?"

Dice shook her head and looked at Dex as if he was dense.

"We both have ghost powers, we both have black hair and blue eyes, all of our names start with 'd'. You do the math."

Dex's eyes widened as he realized what she was saying.

"No way," he said shaking his own head. "That's not possible. They said I was an only child, that my family didn't want me."

Dice's eyes softened at him. She took his arm and made him walk into the bathroom with her. She turned his face to the mirror and made sure he had a good look. Dex froze as he really got a first look at what he looked like. He was taller than Dice, but they had the same facial features.

"No way," he whispered as he put his hand on the mirror, as if to make sure it was still there and it wasn't a trick.

"I'm afraid so," Dan said coming into the room and standing beside his brother.

Dex really saw it when he saw Dan's face against his. They were almost identical, except Dex was a little taller and broader and Dan was pretty much a stick with some pretty good muscle tone to frame him out.

"You okay?" Dan asked after Dex was silent for a long time, just staring dumbly in the mirror.

"I . . . don't know what to think," Dex covered his face with a hand.

"Here," Dan handed him a sack. "I don't know how well they'll fit, but it's better then what you have on."

Dex looked down and saw that Dan had some clothes for him. He took the clothes with a somber look, not knowing what to say.

"You're welcome," Dan said before Dex could think of something to say. "We'll leave you now and come out when you're ready."

Dex nodded and barely heard the door shut.

He looked at the mirror again and almost felt like sobbing. For sixteen years he had been alone, roaming from home to home where he really wasn't wanted. He had never imagined that he had siblings, much less people that were this nice to him. He had been so use to being alone that he couldn't believe this. He also knew that he didn't want to go, he didn't want to leave them behind. He didn't know how, but he wanted to be with them, to be a family. He had wanted one for so long that this was like a dream come true for him.

'Baby steps Dex,' he warned himself. 'This may not work out after all, but make it last, just like you always do.'

Chapter 9—

"That looks bad," Dice said looking at the graze on Dan's arm. "Does it sting?"

"Not really," Dan said glancing at the bathroom door. "My parents fixed me up pretty good. What are we going to do now? I mean, I'm thrilled that Dex is here, but where is he going to stay? I'm sure Ashton wouldn't like it if they have a strange guy sharing your room."

"What about your house?" Dice asked. "Surely your parents would shack him up for a couple of nights?"

"I don't know," Dan shrugged. "Maybe, I know my mom wouldn't turn him away."

"So call them and ask."

"No, I'll take him there, that way my parents can't kick him back out into the street. That's where he's been living you know."

"Why?"

"We'll have to ask him that."

Dex came out, the clothes fitting him alright, but it looked like he would have appreciated a bigger shirt.

"Was this all you had?" Dex asked.

"Sorry, but the only things bigger are my dad's clothes, and he's a triple XXX," Dan grinned and Dice covered her mouth before a laugh could escape her throat. "Plus I don't think orange is your color."

Dex only raised a brow to this but didn't ask.

"So, what now?" he asked them.

"You're coming with me," Danny said taking his brother by the shoulders. "I'm sure my parents will shack you up for the night. They know all about the ghost thing, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"They know?" Dex asked amazed, and a little doubtful. "They still want you?"

"Uh, yeah," Danny said, having a feeling that they were touching fragile ground. "Don't worry, it's going to be fine."

Dex's look said that he was doubtful, but he wasn't going to turn away.

"What about Ashton?" Dice asked them in a panic. "What am I going to say to her?"

"The truth," Danny and Dex said simultaneously.

"I think it works both ways for you Dice," Danny said after a glance at Dex. "You can tell who's fibbing, but you can't fib yourself. You won't have a choice in this."

"Can you tell me how she'll react?"

Danny shook his head regretfully.

"Come get us if you need us," Dex said to fill the silence.

Dice smiled up at him and hugged his middle, since she had taken him off-guard. He hesitantly put his arms around her gingerly, as if he was afraid he was going to break her in half.

"Thanks Dex," she whispered into his chest before letting go.

She gave Danny a hug before he ghosted through the wall and Dex followed.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Dex asked when both of them were walking towards Fenton Works.

Danny looked at the hotel over his shoulder, eyeing the window that looked into Dice's room. The drapes were closed.

"I hate leaving her there, by herself," Dex mumbled. "I haven't known her for very long and I already feel protective of her, as if she's the weakest of the three of us."

"In a sense she is," Danny said looking back at Dex, "but she's not, by any means, defenseless. Once she gets some practice she'll be hard to beat."

"Then how is she weak?" Dex asked confused.

"The same way we're all weak Dex," Danny started to walk again, "it's what we choose and what we do with our lives that she's scared of, not what she currently has. You have power, but you need motivation to use it, and it depends on what kind of motivation you have that steers you in the right direction—or the wrong one."

"Don't get all smarty on me," Dex scowled. "I didn't understand a word of that."

"You will some day."

"You speaking from experience?"

"I'll tell you about it sometime," Dan smiled with knowing. "How long have you had your powers?"

"About half a year," Dex replied sourly. "I've had plenty of practice and all, but it never seems to get any better at times."

"I understand. When I was a freshman, I kept dropping beakers and falling through locker doors."

Dex laughed at that, apparently finding it funny in some way. Danny had to admit that he had come a long way from that clumsy oaf he use to be.

"Dan," Dex said softly, all laughter gone from his voice.

Danny was startled by the change in attitude, but he went with it.

"What?" he asked just as softly.

"Our parents—our birth parents—do you know who they are?"

"I do," Danny said after taking a long breath.

"Did they ever want us?"

Danny whipped his head around to stare at Dex. Dex had fallen behind a few steps and when Danny turned to look at him, he had stopped completely.

"Why would you think such a thing?" Danny asked.

"It's all I knew about my real parents, what I had been told anyway. I'm tired of guessing and I want to know. Did they want us? All of us? Or just a few of us?"

"Dex, they wanted all of us," Danny said putting a hand on Dex's shoulder and looking straight into his eyes. "There was—and still is—nothing wrong with you. They loved us all."

"Then why are we not with them?" Dex almost snarled.

"I can't really explain it Dex," Danny sighed. "I don't remember much, but I do know who can tell you."

"Who?"

"Well, this is going to sound a little weird, but my dog can. You see, my dog is really a very powerful ghost wolf named Rannoch—who just so happens to be our birth father. Plus we have cousins and our aunt and uncle who live here that can tell you too. They were our mother's relatives."

Dex stared at Danny as if he was crazy.

"I know, I get that look often," Danny said rubbing the back of his neck, "but you have to understand that our lives aren't normal Dex. They never will be."

"I don't know what normal is anymore," Des sighed in a sort of inner defeat.

"Let's just focus on getting you a place to sleep and some dinner," Danny said steering Dex in the direction of his house. "We can worry about tomorrow later."

Chapter 10—

Dex's mouth dropped when Danny started to climb up the steps to Fenton Works.

"You live here?" Dex asked amazed and in shock. "This must be embarrassing."

"You get use to it," Danny shrugged.

They both entered and Dex was surprised by how normal it looked on the inside. That was until a woman came up from the basement wearing a blue hazmat suit and red goggles that she slid up to her forehead when she saw them come in the house.

"Danny, what is going on?" she asked, obviously confused by the identical boys.

"Mom," Dan said coming up to her, "this is Dex, he's my brother that I was telling you about. He needs a place to stay for a while and—"

"Well of course he can stay here," she exclaimed as soon as she caught her son's meaning. "We're not going to turn family out on the street."

A black dog came up to the woman's legs and stopped when it saw Dex in the living room.

"Dex," Danny said softly while bending down to pet the dog, "this is Rannoch, our birth father."

Dex could only stare as the dog rubbed its head into Danny's hand and then walked up to Dex with a graceful yet powerful stance. Dex could see the battle scares on its back, ugly grey criss-crossing lines that made it look like a bed sheet that had been rumpled and thrown on the floor.

"Aren't you going to say something?" the beast talked to Dex after there had been silence for some time.

Dex got down on his knees, partly from weakness, and he got straight into the dog's face. Rannoch licked his son's face and Dex didn't turn away, it just felt right. Dex straightened some of the fur around the collar and then hugged the beast tightly to him.

"There, there pup," Rannoch soothed as he felt Dex shaking. "I know it's been hard, but you're safe now. We won't turn you away."

Rannoch, with some difficulty, brought his paw around to try and hug his lost son, but it proved to be inadequate compared to human arms and hands.

"Dex, you're going to choke him," Danny said, prying his brother from Rannoch's neck. "Don't worry, we're here now."

"Why don't you boys go upstairs for awhile? I'll call the others and tell them where you are," the woman said as Danny helped Dex to his feet and guided him to the stairs, Rannoch following with a slight limp.

Once in Danny's room, the boys really didn't know what to do. Words didn't seem to be enough for them to express how they each were feeling. Finally, Danny couldn't take the silence any longer; it felt like he was going to lose Dex if they stopped talking.

He stooped to the TV he kept by the floor with his beanbag chairs and turned the power on.

"Want to play something?" he asked Dex, handing him a controller.

The next hour was filled with car-crashing mayhem as the boys challenged one another to races on the X-box. It was as if they had known each other all of their lives and had never been separated in the first place. Dex making hallow threats and Danny taking him up on them seemed just as normal as if Tucker was right beside him instead of his long lost brother.

"Bet you can't do it from the ceiling," Dex dared after his car was consumed in a fiery ball as Danny's car passed the finish line.

"You're on!" Danny said, beginning to float to the roof when Maddie's voice announced dinner to everyone else in the household. "after pizza that is."

"How do you know its pizza?" Dex asked as he put the controller down and got up to follow his brother to the kitchen.

"You don't smell that?" Danny asked bewildered.

"Well, I can now," Dex said after they started down the stairs. "I guess my senses aren't as strong as yours yet. Emphasis on 'yet'."

Danny only snickered and slid down the banister while Dex exclaimed the unfairness of the home-field advantage. Rannoch only rolled his eyes and calmly walked down the steps in regal form that had come with too many years of training and practice that it had become habit for him. The boys didn't notice, nor would they have cared much. Rannoch was just Rannoch to them, not one of the mighty lords of the Ghost Zone and legendary protector of earth.

Jack, since he had been in the lab and hadn't noticed they had a guest over, was startled when the look-alikes rushed into the kitchen. Had had been tinkering with some gadget at the table like always and had screwed a bolt too tight when his attention was taken off of his invention and onto the boys. The thing made a muffled explosion from the tight bolt and started to smoke from the inside. Jack yelped and ran over to the sink where he doused the invention in cool water.

"I now see what you meant about orange," Dex whispered to Danny when he spotted the larger man.

Jack turned around to look at the boys and his brow furrowed.

"Uh Dad," Danny began with uncertainty, "this is Dex, my brother. He showed up today and he needs a place to stay. Mom already said yes."

"Well, there's no doubt that he's your brother," Jack said still amazed, then his face brightened up, "and of course he can stay! Did you think we would kick him out onto the street?"

"I had my doubts," Danny grinned as he got pizza for himself. "Where's Mom?"

"Talking with Jazz on the phone," Jack pointed a thumb into the other room.

"Jazz is my sister," Danny told Dex at his questioning look. "I'm going to go talk with her, are you going to be okay for a few minutes?"

"I'll be fine," Dex said stealing Danny's plate from his hands and taking a bite before Danny could protest.

He just shook his head and walked out of the kitchen.

"So Dex," Jack said leaning in towards the teen, "do you want to hear about ghosts?"

Dex knew, that somewhere in the living room, Danny was laughing.

"Oh sweety hold on, Danny wants to talk to you," Maddie said handing the phone over to him.

Danny clapped his hand over the receiver and looked at his mom.

"Did you tell her anything?" he asked.

"No, she's still as clueless as ever," Maddie smiled. "You can tell her if you want."

"I think she better be prepared for this weekend," Danny said smiling evilly into the phone. "Hey Jazz."

"Hey little bro," Jazz said enthusiastically. "What's up?"

"A whole lot," Danny said taking a seat on the couch. "Are you ready to hear?"

Jazz was silent as Danny explained all that had happened after Jazz had left back for collage from her visit on spring break. He didn't tell her everything, just enough to keep her interested so he knew she wouldn't put off coming to see them again.

"You are still coming over this weekend, right?" Danny asked, smiling when his sister wasn't responding, obviously thinking about what trouble her brother was cooking up back at home.

"Huh?" she said distractedly. "Oh yes, I'll be there, count on it."

Danny chuckled as he hung up the phone. He could count on Jazz for anything.

"She's coming," he said as he came back to the kitchen, only to find that the food was completely gone.

He stared at the empty box, then up at Dex and Jack who were lounging at the kitchen table. Jack with his device and Dex with his feet propped up on the tabletop.

"You guys are pigs," he mumbled as he threw away the box.

"You spent like an hour on the phone," Dex defended, "it was getting cold."

"I saved you a slice," Rannoch said as he bumped Danny's legs to get his attention. "After you eat, I would like a walk."

Rannoch got his walk soon after Danny ate. Dex tagged along, as well as to get away from Jack and any more talk about ghosts. It was beginning to freak him out. When they got back home, Jack had glued himself to the T.V., watching some mindless movie about werewolves, vampires, and secret societies trying to keep a lid on it. They boys were sucked into it right away and joined the adult on the couch. By the time the movie was over, Jack had dozed off in the recliner, Danny was asleep on the couch the long way, and Dex was sleeping with his back on the couch and head forward, almost tipping him over if he leaned in any more then he was.

Maddie found them arranged like this and smiled fondly at the scene. She shook the boys awake and hurried them to bed, telling them that they had arranged something for Dex up in Danny's room. Danny got up groggily, use to being shaken awake like this, Dex not so much. Danny grabbed his brother's arm and dragged him up the stairs in his almost zombie-like state. When they got up to the room, they were both surprised to see that Danny's bed had been made into a bunk bed.

"I forgot about that," Danny mumbled as he made his way to the closet.

"Forgot about what?" Dex asked as he stretched.

"Before we moved here, I had to share a room with Jazz, we had a bunk bed and Dad dismantled it so I could have one for my own room when we moved. I forgot he kept the other one. 'Just in case' he said. Turns out he was right."

Danny took the top bunk and Dex was left with the bottom one. He didn't complain since Rannoch joined him and snuggled up by his side, giving him a new sense of comfort. Dex was happy. He was in a warm house, in a bed, with a full belly and people who didn't fake their likeness of him. He knew Danny wasn't faking, and he knew that the Fentons weren't faking either. It almost felt too good to be true.

A scream tore through their ears, a piercing shriek that sent their blood running cold and bones shaking.

"Dice!" the both yelled at the same time, bolting from their beds.

Maddie and Jack came in a second later, hearing their screams from across the hall.

"Boys what is it?" Maddie was the first one to ask.

"Dice is in trouble, I heard her," Danny said feeling anxious and shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"I did too," Dex said feeling frightened. "She's hurt, and lost."

"Then go find her!" Rannoch commanded them. "Go, track her down like I taught you Danny. Take Dex with you, he might be able to help."

Danny nodded and raced out his window, not bothering to transform. Dex on the other hand wasn't as practiced and had to become a Phantom before he exited the room. He floated outside for a moment, trying to spot his brother when he noticed a large animal leap the back fence of the Fentons' yard. He followed warily.

"Dan?" he asked quietly, feeling the silence of the night press against him.

"Over here," Danny said from the alley way next to him, "I need to get close to the hotel where Dice was staying to pick up her scent."

"Pick up her scent?" Dex asked as he entered the alley.

Two jade-green eyes stared at him from under white hair and two black ears that stuck like points on an arrow.

"Woah!" he said, backing up slightly to take in his brother's new appearance. "Can I do that?"

"Eventually," Danny grinned, but he turned serious. "We need to get to that hotel."

Danny turned and phased through the buildings at a dead run. Dex followed, keeping a better eye in the air and not wasting as much energy by phasing through everything. Once in the air though, he saw smoke and heard sirens in the direction of the hotel.

"Dan, the building's on fire!" he yelled down to the wolf that was sniffing at the streets.

Danny looked up at him then perked his ears in the direction Dex was pointing. Dex heard him growl as he leapt forward and almost crashed into a dumpster without going intangible. Dex hurried as well, knowing where Danny was going this time. Smoke was the first thing he smelled, and then he was in it. Dex coughed a few times before descending to float near the sidewalk. None of the humans took notice as they were all captivated by the flames that were devouring the building like Jack Fenton does with fudge. Danny rushed up a moment later looking worried.

"I circled the area with no sign of her," Danny said as he looked at the flames. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know, can you do anything to stop it?" Dex asked.

"The building has been cleared; they'll have to take care of it. The building is lost even with my help anyway."

Suddenly, the wind blew in their faces and Dex smelled the smoke and felt the heat on his skin as well as, light? Was it even possible to smell light? Danny must have caught it too because his nose was going to work, taking in all that he could of the air.

"She was here," he said, confident in his deduction.

Dex breathed in a little more deeply and looked over to the closest building he could find. He looked up and saw a small trail of white tendrils start to disappear in the night air.

"She went that way," he pointed upwards.

"How do you know?" Danny asked confused.

"I can see her trail."

"It must be one of your new powers," Danny said after he blinked. "Lead on Dex."

Dex flew up the roof and Danny followed by keenly jumping up there without making a sound. He sniffed the air and nodded.

"She did come up here," he said, then he looked down on the roof top, "and she's hurt. Her blood is making a line across Amity Park."

Dex looked down and was horrified to see the green substance making a line across the buildings like a trail of breadcrumbs. Along with it was the trail of white mist that he saw as her spectral trail. Dex rushed forward and Danny followed, jumping from roof to roof like a squirrel in a tree. Dex just flew, occasionally side passing a chimney or two.

The trail led outside Amity Park and into the suburbs. A place that Danny avoided at all costs since the mayor took residence here.

"We better find her before someone else does," he said gravely. "Can you see her trail anymore?"

"Yeah, kind of," Dex squinted into the darkness. "Her trail is mixing with someone else's. It's red though, and I'm getting a bad vibe from it."

"It must be Vlad's. Don't ask, just know that he's not a good guy."

Dex nodded and tried to figure out the tangle in the trails while Danny sniffed around the area. Dex eventually found the right trail and followed it to one of the roof tops where he found Dice, hugging herself against the shadow of a chimney tower.

"Dice?" Dex asked as he floated down to her.

"Dexter!" she sobbed as she grabbed him by the neck and brought him closer to her for comfort; like a giant teddy bear. "It-it's too—horrible!" she sobbed into his shoulder.

Dex was uncertain about what to do. The whole time he had been with Dice, she had seemed so strong and experienced, not this broken little girl in his arms. He now figured out what Danny had been trying to say earlier. She was strong physically, but not emotionally. He understood those needs: needs to know that you were loved, that you were wanted. He had closed himself off to the world when no one wanted him. He still wasn't that hopeful, but he knew that Danny and Dice cared about him, he just didn't know to respond or express what he felt back. He had been so hostile to people and closed off that it was almost alien territory.

"Dan!" he yelled as he hugged Dice closer and began to ascend with her in his arms.

Danny came up to the back of the house and saw that Dex had Dice.

"Fly her back," Danny said. "I'll be up there in a minute."

Dex nodded and headed in the direction of the Fenton's house. It couldn't be missed since the large glowing neon sign signaled to the world exactly where they were. Danny had returned to his normal Phantom form and joined them in the air a minute later. He looked over Dice while Dex held her, afraid of dropping her.

"Her arm's cut pretty badly," Danny said, pulling his hand back from her wound. "We better get her to Mom. She'll know what to do."


	4. Chapter 4

Part 4—Chapter 11

Maddie tended to Dice while Dex and Danny talked with Rannoch. Jack was still sleeping in the recliner, oblivious to everything going on around him. Dice was still sniffling ever since the boys brought her home. She wouldn't talk about what had happened, but then again, Danny guessed that she couldn't form a full sentence without hiccupping right now. Maddie was a great comfort to the girl, Danny saw it in the way Dice trusted her.

"Can she stay with us?" Danny asked his mother softly after Maddie had finished wrapping Dice up.

"Of course she can," Maddie said with a great bout of motherly love. "She can stay in Jazz's old room. The comforter is still pink anyway."

Danny smiled slightly, but his frown returned when he saw his sister still curled up on the kitchen chair where she had been sitting for the past hour. He touched her shoulder gingerly and her head snapped up to see him.

"I think it's time for bed little sis," Danny whispered to her.

She nodded tiredly and allowed Danny and Dex to guide her upstairs. Once in the room, Dice curled up in the bed without taking her beaten shoes off or pulling the covers about her shoulders. Danny took her Nikes off while Dex phased the sheets through her slumbering form and brought them over her, completely tangible.

"Is she going to be okay?" Dex asked, looking worriedly at their sister.

"I'm not sure," Danny said frowning, his voice monotone, "but she's safe now. Hopefully we'll know what happened in the morning."

Dice was still sleeping at 10:30 am. The boys had been up for about thirty minutes, but the air was filled with depression because of Dice's unspoken situation. The three might not have been together long, but it was as if they had never been separated and were already connected so tightly that it was almost scary. The triplets found it natural while everyone else found it endearing.

"Are you boys hungry?" Maddie asked, seeing them both slump over the kitchen table with depressed faces.

"No thanks," they said simultaneously.

"What? They're not hungry for once in their lives?" Rannoch said incredulously from his spot on the couch. "You're connection is stronger than I thought."

The wolf reached a paw out to click the television on and the box responded to the signal. Normally he would shun such things, since he was use to being a wild animal, but he found this talking box to be quite informative for news around the world since he couldn't go outside the house without someone going with him. Since he already knew many languages, he flipped to every news station he could find; listening intently for any news that might perk his interest. This morning, it was the local news that became his priority.

"Pups!" he yelled, catching the others' attention and rushing into the room.

"What is it?" Dex and Danny said.

"Something wrong?" Maddie asked after them.

"About the fire last night," Rannoch said, turning up the volume. "Listen."

"No one knows how this fire was started, but it is blamed on a faulty heater," said the news man. "We know for sure that one person is missing. Pop star Diana Paul had been reported missing by their body guard only minutes after the fire. However, the sister, Ashton Paul speaks differently. She says she saw her sister go up in flames since she was right by the heater that night, but there is no body to confirm the young singer's testimony. Search parties are all around the area, searching for the missing teen sensation."

"That's a lie," Dex almost screamed. "Dice phased out of there before she could get burned. All we saw on her was a cut."

"I do have a feeling that Ashton is lying," Danny said whipping out his cell phone, "but we can't jump to conclusions. We have to wait for Dice to tell her side of the story."

"And what about her?" Dex asked. "What if they find her here?"

"They're looking for a red-head Dex. No one is going to recognize Dice without that rag on her head."

Danny checked his speed dial and was soon waiting for someone to pick up on the other end.

"Hello, Uncle Simon? Did you see the news this morning? Well, the missing person is here at my house. Can you get Aunt Silvi and get over here quick? No, I can't tell you now, it would be better face-to-face. Thank you."

He hung up and turned to Maddie.

"We're having company," he said a bit sheepishly.

"I'll fix some coffee," Maddie said heading back into the kitchen.

"I want to go check up on Dice," Dex said, heading up the stairs before Danny could say anything.

He shrugged and picked his phone up again to call his friends. Tucker was still in bed, Sam was a friendly as a bear woken from hibernation, but she calmed down when she heard what Danny had to say. She was on her way. Valerie was out on her jet sled, checking the downtown area for the troublesome ghosts that appeared down there, but she said she would be over as soon as she could. After trying Tucker for the fifth time, Danny growled a voice message into the phone and hung up, flinging himself on the couch beside Rannoch. By the time he did that, the door bell rang and he got up to answer it.

"Danny," Simon said walking past his nephew.

"Thank you bud," Silvi said, giving him a hug before coming in.

"Rannoch," Simon signaled his greeting to the wolf on the couch with a curt nod.

"Simon," Rannoch said waving his tail in an air of dismissal.

"How are you feeling Rannoch?" Silvi said, sitting beside the beast and scratching his ears.

"Still a little drained, but fit," the dog smiled at her. "I never knew how pleasant a walk could be."

Danny only rolled his eyes to that and went upstairs to check up on his siblings. He found Dex and Dice talking in Jazz's old room and he knocked on the door to catch their attention. They both slightly jumped, but they relaxed when they saw it was him.

"Morning," he said to Dice.

She gave a weak smile back.

"Aunt Silvi and Uncle Simon are downstairs; I think you should meet them."

"Aunt and Uncle who?" Dex asked.

"Mother's siblings, she was a triplet too you know."

"No, I didn't know," Dex shook his head.

"I don't have anything to wear," Dice said, looking at her ruined clothing.

"You can wear some of Jazz's old stuff," Danny said, walking to the closet. "She always leaves something here for when she visits."

A few minutes later, the three of them were coming down, Dice wearing Jazz's old black slacks and turquoise top. Silvi watched with a smile on her face as they walked into the room; Simon had a look of utter disbelieve on his face. Rannoch only smiled from his spot on the couch.

"Finally," Silvi said taking them in, "finally we get to be a family again. This would be perfect if only—"

Silvi cut herself off, but Danny knew what she had been about to say: if only Sadie, Danny's biological mother, were there.

"Guys, this is Aunt Silvia," Danny said, trying to fill the awkward silence.

"I like Silvi," she said coming over to them. "Oh Dice, you look just like your mother," she said, hugging the shy girl.

"Thanks," Dice said, unsure what she should do.

"Dex, you look to be in good health," Simon said, looking at him with a quirk of the brow.

Dex had to stop himself from making his hand fly to his heart, but he had a creepy feeling about Simon.

"They're Halfas too," Danny said, seeing the odd look on Dex's face. "Uncle Simon can read minds and Aunt Silvi can make anyone do anything with her voice."

Oh, that explained the creepy feeling. As soon as Danny explained their relatives' powers, the creepy feeling left Dex almost instantly. Simon must have been probing his mind or something.

"The boy is a promising telekinetic," Simon said, hands on his hips and almost smiling.

"We're not here about Dex," Silvi said taking Dice by the hand and leading her over to the couch. "Now, tell me everything you can dear."

Dex and Danny situated themselves on the floor while Simon took to leaning against the wall by the couch. Rannoch placed his head in Dice's lap and sighed heavily. Dice felt him and automatically started to run her fingers through the thick fur on his head.

"I—I waited for Ashton to come back," Dice began, her voice shaking. "She did and she was wondering how I had left her alone with strangers. I felt awful for doing that to her, but I had to make sure Dex was safe like Danny said. She wanted an explanation and I told her the truth."

Danny winced, knowing full well that the outcome had not been good. He had a hazy vision about it the other day, thus why he had warned Dice beforehand about it, but it was obviously meant to happen.

'God, why did you let that happen?' Danny asked with his heart more than his head. 'Dice is a good person; she didn't deserve that kind of treatment.'

"She wanted proof of course so I showed her," Dice continued. "She screamed at me, and something hit me in the back of the head. I'm not sure what it was, but I think it was Panther as he came into the room. They tied me up with something and I felt it when I woke up. Ashton had just hung up the phone and had a card in her hand. Panther was keeping an eye on me, so I didn't move.

"A few minutes later, they walked in; the GIW agents. I just panicked; I didn't want to end up with them. I knew Ashton had betrayed me though, and all of that emotion came in lightening. I felt it, controlled it, I'm sure, to hit the building and distract everyone as I phased through the bonds. One of the agents saw me and fired a gun. He hit my arm and I screamed. I felt my hands charge up and fire at him before realizing the building was on fire. I was scared so I flew and flew and flew. That's all I remember before Dex found me."

Danny growled low in his throat at his eyes burned acid green in livid anger. Dex was mimicking the action, only he was cracking his knuckles without realizing it.

"They're so going to pay," Danny growled in a voice that didn't sound like his own.

"Whoa," Simon whispered in surprise, "they really are connected, in more ways than one."

"Guys, cut it out," Dice said, frowning at them. "Don't go killing people."

"I wouldn't kill Dice," Danny said, calmingly slightly, "but well-organized-torture sounds good to me."

"I side with the killing idea," Dex ground out between clenched teeth.

"Stop!" Dice shrieked, knocking the boys out of their rage. "Those people were the closest thing I had to family, I may be without them now, but I still care for them. Let them go, please."

Dex crossed his arms angrily, but he nodded.

"We'll do what you ask Dice," Danny said softly, "but that doesn't mean we can't pay them a little visit soon."

"I second that," Dice smiled, but it was replaced quickly with a tired and depressed look. "What about me missing? We can't let them think I'm dead."

"We might be able to work something out with the police so that it will stay under wraps," Silvi said, stroking Dice's long hair. "Let us take care of it, you just relax right now."

"I don't like it that the GIW was there," Simon said frowning. "Those guys have been a big pain in the butt for years now."

"You know them?" Danny asked surprised.

"And they know us," Simon growled. "They've been trying to capture us for years, but their own paper work got the better of them."

"Well, they've been after Dice and me for almost a half year," Dex said angrily. "They've been chasing me all across the country, almost got me a couple of times."

"They've been trying to get me by legal means," Dice whispered fearfully. "Now they can. My guardian has disowned me, I'm not protected. Danny's the only one with real parents anyway, he's always been safe. So long as he had guardians, he's been safe."

"What do you mean?" Danny asked bewildered.

"You were adopted straight out huh?" Dex asked looking at his brother. "That makes sense. You are legally a family member of the Fentons. For the rest of us, we're property of the state. I always have been, Dice is now since no one is responsible for her. We're kind of like fugitives Dan, we don't have anyone to take care of us, we don't have a home like you've had for your whole life. I've been shipped to almost every state in the U.S.A, just because people didn't want me; they really don't now since I'm too 'old' to be adopted. Everyone likes the babies and the toddlers, when you get older, no one wants you. Makes me feel like a dog in the pound, no pun intended, but you know how everyone goes after the puppies and leaves the old dog to die in the cage? That's what it's like for us, or at least me."

Everyone was staring at him. It had been the longest Dex had ever talked since meeting up with his blood family, and it left Danny a little depressed and shocked. Dex was right; he had no idea what it felt like to not be loved.

"So, how long have you been on the run?" Dice asked respectfully.

"A few months, almost a year I think. It's hard to keep track of time on the streets," Dex said looking depressed as well. "I wasn't missed if that's what you're thinking."

"No, she's wondering how lonely you were," Simon said simply, and a bit impressed that his nephew could survive on his own for this long.

"You get use to your own company I guess, but it doesn't compare with real people," Dex looked at the floor.

"You have us now," Danny clapped a hand on Dex's shoulder.

"But how long is that going to last Dan? I can't stay here forever."

"And neither can I," Dice said sadly. "People would begin to ask questions since we look so much alike and then the police and social services would come and take us all away. You could be pulled into this pit right with us Dan, don't do that to yourself."

"I'll think about it Dice," Danny said seriously, "but we'll come up with something."

Chapter 12—

Simon and Silvi had to eventually leave. No one really felt like doing anything, but Maddie insisted that they eat something. The triplets settled on the couch while Maddie fixed French toast for them all. Jack came down the stairs when the smell reached his nose and stopped when he saw that instead of two kids, three were now occupying the den, watching the TV mindlessly.

Danny was the first one to notice him. He looked up and saw his father's mouth become slack and his eyes bug out of his head. Danny blinked at him then returned his attention to the TV, pulling his legs up to his chest and resting his chin on his knees.

"I thought there were only two of you here last night," Jack said walking into the room and taking in Dice.

"Dice was attacked last night," Danny said, changing the channel. "She has nowhere else to go."

Jack shook his head and walked into the kitchen.

"Maddie, we have to do something about them," he said, sitting at the table.

"I know, but what can we do?" Maddie asked, setting a plate in front of her husband.

"Well, we are better financial-wise now that Jazz is on her own and the government is paying us to make ghost weapons," Jack mused, hoping to get his idea across to his wife as painlessly as possible. "Maybe two more kids wouldn't hurt things."

Maddie stopped what she was doing and looked surprised at Jack.

"What are you saying Jack?" Maddie asked.

"I'm saying that these kids have nowhere to go and no one to help them. They're half ghost Maddie. The only one who can help them is Rannoch and he's stuck here in dog form. What if we take them in? Keep them together? I've already thought about this a lot and it seems right to me. We can afford it, we can take care of them, all of them."

"Oh Jack, I was going to ask you the same thing, but I wasn't sure you would want to," Maddie said hugging her big, lovable oaf. "It might be a problem with Dice because of legal affairs, but if she comes clean we could easily take her in."

"And Dex won't be a problem," Jack nodded happily. "I really like that kid."

"It will be so nice to have a daughter around the house again."

"And it will be really nice to have new minds to blather on all about ghosts too!"

Maddie gave Jack a knowing frown.

"Sorry, force of habit."

"Let's get started Jack, I don't want to waste time!"

Maddie grabbed the RV's keys and grabbed her purse.

"Bye kids, we're going to run some errands," Maddie said as she stepped outside. "There's some French toast on the table ready for you three, don't let it get cold."

"Call me if you see a ghost!" Jack yelled as he raced out the door behind his wife.

Danny blinked at them as the door slammed shut and the lock could be heard turning. He sighed and got up. He went into the kitchen, gathered the plates with their breakfast on them and brought them out. Maddie had fixed it just the way he liked it for all three of them, and he didn't hear anyone complaining about it.


End file.
